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Salvation Army Helping in Japan

The Salvation Army in Japan has three emergency service relief teams working in areas affected by the earthquake and tsunami. One of the teams is assisting people who have been evacuated from areas threatened by the damage of nuclear power plants.

In our original blog post on the disaster, we mentioned a Salvation Army assessment team was sent from Tokyo to Sendai (the city nearest the center of the earthquake). While this trip usually takes 6 hours, it took the team 20 hours to reach their destination.

Emergency service personnel from The Salvation Army International Headquarters (IHQ) in London will also soon head over to Japan to join in the relief effort.

Overall, there is much damage to the country. Road and rail systems have been severely affected. Gasoline supplies are low, with many gas stations closed and lines up to three kilometers long at stations that are open.

The disaster has affected a 2,000 kilometer north-south stretch of Japan. Official reports now state that more than 10,000 people are dead or missing.

At this time there are no reports of any loss of Salvation Army personnel or damage to our buildings.

Many Salvation Army territories are offering financial and prayer support for our relief effort in Japan. The Salvation Army in South Korea has set aside the next four weeks specifically for prayer and fundraising for Japan.

If you’d like to support The Salvation Army’s Japan relief efforts, you can do so in the following ways: